This invention relates generally to apparatus for handling a continuous supply of can ends, or like articles, and more particularly is directed to a device for developing or otherwise segregating and thereafter vertically elevating discrete stacks or groups of these can ends or other articles.
Modern canning operations often include not only apparatus for filling and sealing the cans but also machinery for fabricating and/or assembling the can components, that is, the can ends and can bodies. In any event, a top closure or can end is generally assembled with the can subsequent to filling thereof. In such operations, it is therefore necessary to transport or otherwise handle the can ends in large quantities between fabricating or other intake or receiving machinery and further downstream processing apparatus.
Moreover, modern can processing and manufacturing equipment operates at high rates of speed to attain commercially attractive production costs. Hence, the can end parts must be supplied to the processing or assembly equipment at correspondingly high rates of speed to maintain the overall speed and efficiency of the operation. To maintain and provide this continuous, high speed supply of can ends without constant supervision and attention by one or more employees, apparatus such as that described and claimed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,722,741 and 4,000,709, both assigned to the Assignee of record herein, have been utilized, the disclosures of which patents are incorporated herein by reference. Generally speaking, can end infeed units described in these patents particularly in columns 2 and 3 referring to FIGS. 1-3 of the U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,741 and columns 1 and 3 referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,709, provide a plurality of can end carrier or pocket members, each carrier or pocket member being capable of receiving and storing a separate generally vertically arranged stack or "stick" of can ends. These infeed unit carrier members, each filled with a stack of can ends are then individually indexed to a delivery station. At the delivery station, an ejector mechanism delivers the can end stack from the infeed pocket member to the intake structure of the downstream processing equipment.
The filling of the carrier or pocket members of the infeed units of the above-mentioned prior art designs with stacks of can ends is basically a manual operation. Upon manufacture of the can ends, they are packaged in kraft paper bags and palletized for delivery to the infeed unit. An operator then inserts a bagged stack of can ends in the carrier member and strips off the paper bag.
To alleviate the need for manual filling of the pockets, an automatic stack developing and loading system was developed, and such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,550 to Mojden et al. which patent is owned by the Assignee of record herein, and its disclosure is also incorporated herein by reference. Briefly, the apparatus described in this U.S. patent permits a continuous stream of can ends to be supplied directly from the fabricating machinery to the infeed storage and supply units as disclosed in the above-mentioned patents. In this regard, the stream of incoming ends from the fabricating machinery is separated or split into discrete stacks and transported to a transfer station. This transfer station is positioned for operative alignment with the carrier or pocket members of the infeed unit, such that when an empty carrier member is aligned with the transfer station a stack of ends will be laterally shifted and deposited into the carrier member automatically. The infeed units of the above first mentioned patents are thereby permitted to function as a magazine or accumulator to store a large supply of ends in the multiple carrier units thereof, permitting a relatively large supply of can ends to be delivered at a rate to match the demand therefor at the downstream processing machinery.
The automatic stack developing and loading system of the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,550 utilizes a horizontal trough for accumulating a horizontally disposed stack of can ends delivered from an upstream source. A transport clamp member is then selectively engaged at a predetermined point in the stack to separate and engage a quantity of can ends. A generally arcuate transfer chute is disposed intermediate the horizontal trough and a vertical transfer pocket disposed generally vertically above the trough. Accordingly, the movement of the clamp longitudinally along the trough acts to drive the separated group of can ends into the arcuate transition chute. The movement of the separated stack of ends into the transition chute will force any ends previously deposited in said chutes upwardly toward and into the vertical transfer pocket. Further reference to the patent is suggested for an appreciation of further details of the system disclosed therein.
While the system of the foregoing U.S. patent has met with commercial success, there is room for yet further improvement. More specifically, with the system of the '550 patent the ends were not positively driven through the transition chute and into the vertical transfer pocket. To the contrary, with this design the clamp arrangement which is used to initially separate a stack of ends, is relied upon to attain the necessary upstream movement of the ends. This feature proved troublesome in certain environments and with larger size ends. As such, the present invention was developed as an improvement wherein a positive drive arrangement is provided for moving the ends through the transition chute, which drive arrangement does not rely upon the movable clamp arrangement initially employed to separate a stack of ends.